VOA慢速英语2015 冬天的天气让叙利亚难民雪上加霜

 

AS IT IS 2015-02-02 Winter Weather Worsens Conditions for Syrian Refugees² 冬天的天气让叙利亚难民雪上加霜

A strong winter storm struck the Middle East in the middle of January. The storm has been called one of the strongest to hit the area in 10 years. Hundreds of thousands of refugees were affected³ by the cold and snow.

Many of the refugees live in temporary shelters, largely unprotected from the cold. Some tent settlements are found in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Others are in the mountains of northern Lebanon.

It is a daily fight for survival⁴.   

More than a million people have fled to Lebanon, driven out of Syria by the conflict there.

But in Lebanon they face another threat.

In the Beka’a area, the refugees deal with freezing temperatures. There were reports earlier this month that at least three refugees died during heavy snowfall and storms.

Fatmi Zakour’s husband was killed in the Syrian war. She now lives in a refugee¹ camp with 120 Syrians. She is worried about her three children.

She told VOA: “We were in a house, were so happy there. Everything changed for us here. My husband was killed, and I have two handicapped⁵ kids. And my oldest daughter has heart problems.  Everything changed. We're living in a tent now. We aren't used to living in a tent. Everything is different.”

But help came for Fatmi Zakour and her family after the storms. The Lebanese government and non-governmental organizations sent doctors to the camps in an effort to help the families living in the basic, simple tents.

But there are at least 400,000 refugees in the Beka’a area, and hundreds of thousands in other parts of Lebanon. Reports estimate 83 percent of them are women and children. It will be difficult to help them all.

Dr. Fatima al-Moussawi works for Lebanon’s Ministry⁶ of Health.

"Before the storms, many refugees were able to deal with the weather. But they were not expecting the extreme cold and made no plans for how they would stay warm. There are many young children and old people among the refugees. Aid workers had to go into each tent and provide medical care there because the people inside were often unable to leave their tent. The refugee settlements do not have good roads, fresh water or electricity."

Experts say Lebanon is now home to 1.6 million refugees. Many live in the more than 1,400 temporary camps across the country.

For many of the refugees, this is not their first winter living in such conditions. But it is one of the coldest.

Some of them are in poor health. Breathing problems and infections are common. The cold weather worsens the health of individuals with long-term disorders⁷.

The United Nations Children’s Fund is working with local groups to give clothing to refugee children. UN agencies are also providing blankets and food.

Joe Awad leads a local aid group. He says there was only one big storm and less snow last year, but more donations.

“Last year there was more money and more funding to help them than this year. So this year, even the, all the UN agencies and, they lack funding for this.”

There are new calls for the international community to give more aid to the refugees.

Words in this Story

freezing – adj. to be very cold; n. a period in which the weather is very cold; a time when temperatures are below 32°F or 0°C

handicapped – adj. having a physical or mental condition that limits what a person can do; having a handicap

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

5 handicapped   

a.残疾的，有智力缺陷的

参考例句：

• a visually handicapped child 弱视儿童
• mentally and physically handicapped 身心俱残

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》